Album Review: Minden

What’s More Than Appropriate? (Self-Released)

In the video for “Gold Standard,” off last year’s Exotic Cakes LP,
the Missouri transplants in Minden introduced themselves to Portland by
stuffing their most hirsute member into a spandex unitard and having
him vogue a choreographed Jazzercise routine over a slinky,
keyboard-spangled lounge-funk groove. It was never clear just how
seriously to take them, but the hooks were serious enough to make the
group one of the more buzzed-over new bands in the city.

On this free
four-song EP, Minden continues coming on like Phoenix with thicker chest
hair. The title track spins and sparkles like a freshly pressure-washed
disco ball, with frontman Casey Burge cooing, in a breathy, come-hither
falsetto, “Sometimes it’s good to do some wrong.” “You’re On the Edge”
and “Keep Your Charm” ride the tight interplay between drummer Ryan
Johnson and bassist Evan Houston, while “Trash Manor” floats on a
cloud-bed of fluffy synths that wouldn’t sound out of place on a
mid-’80s adult-contempo R&B record. How much of this is delivered
with ironic, leotard-clad poses in mind? At this point, does it even
matter?